


Flesh Falling

by Jackalope_Wrangler



Category: RWBY
Genre: Multi, Zombie AU, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2015-04-07
Packaged: 2018-03-21 17:26:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3700835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackalope_Wrangler/pseuds/Jackalope_Wrangler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the city of Vale becomes infested with zombies, people will do anything to survive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flesh Falling

The frost covering the stone brick floors crunched under her boots, the sound of it echoing and bouncing off the walls around her. It was mixed with bits of dirt, making it appear tainted, much unlike the pure snow before the entrance. She let out a large breath in the form of a sigh; the air was a misty vapor in front of her. She lifted her red hood over her head, clicking the small cross clips together, and bunching the sides of her cape cross her abdomen, to try and fight the dropping temperatures around her.  
She stopped and shook off the ice that had been accumulating on her boot, resting her shoulder against a nearby wall to catch her breath. The stones were cold, even though she was wearing a thick black blouse. She had been walking in the prison for less than 20 minutes but the walk there was much over two hours. She had only stopped to re-supply and chat with a traveling merchant on the way. Her legs were beginning to ache, and her toes had gone numb.

She still couldn’t believe she had the gall to trail her idiot friend down here. Treasure or not, it wasn’t worth risking a life for. The place was dangerous, and the only thing she wanted to do was leave, never having explored such a place before. The area was out of her league; the only time she had considered going in was when she was with her friend but even then she was too afraid to venture further than the door.

“God dang it Jaune…” She breathed out. The only reply she received was her own echo.  
Stories were told about this place, about how hazardous and treacherous it could be. About how stupid people would visit, looking to collect riches of all kinds, only to meet an untimely demise. About how the floors were covered in traps and Grimm hid behind every corner, just waiting to ambush you. She had always believed the stories of course, why wouldn’t one?

The abandoned weapons at the entrance and the skeletons that scattered the hallways were proof enough of the danger of this labyrinth. She wasn’t sure what kind of monsters lived in such a place - most likely some cave or reptile type Grimm. She couldn’t imagine there being any larger Grimm, not until deeper into the dungeon anyways.  
Kicking a skull with her foot, she stopped. She had noticed that the tunnels had been surprisingly quiet for quite some time; she hadn’t encountered any Grimm since she’d gotten here.

She had considered herself quite lucky. She had barely come across any Grimm since she had been attacked by a small herd of armored Boarbatusks. Although despite there being few, the battle had dragged on for quite some time. They were much more challenging than any she had encountered previously and showed increased intelligence, moving more intricately in return. Luckily their attacks weren’t much stronger. She even had to call in for help at one point, which was one of the more embarrassing things she had to do recently. She was meant to be an elite huntress by this point but apparently taking down some feral Boarbatusk proved too difficult. She stopped and sat down on a small fallen down wall to rest.

Once she had slain the Boarbatusk her stamina had fallen significantly. She had to use as much medicine as possible before entering the prison, to try and be prepared for the Grimm that lay inside. However even her most potent potions didn’t prove to be enough to fully heal her wounds. The injuries weren’t too extreme, just some small cuts and abrasions across her shins; however they were slowing her down significantly, as she wasn’t capable of using her speed semblance in her condition. Although, she wouldn’t usually consider using her semblance in dungeon such as this one, as a surprise attack could take her out rather quickly.

Standing up from the boulder she trekked further on down the hallway. The temperature continued to drop, and so did her motivation to keep going. However her friend required her help, and with the amount of times he had helped her when she needed it, she felt she didn’t have the option to say no.

From the time she started out at beacon he had always been there. Egging her on, telling her never to give up, and giving somewhat helpful advice. Jaune had been there since the start and she was grateful for it. However it was times like these she really wish he hadn’t been, so then she wouldn’t have to come to a place a lot like this. He was always getting into trouble and asking for her help, even though he of all people knew she wasn’t up for it half the time. While she did love killing Grimm, sometimes she would like to fight something within her league. But at least she got a tonne of battle experience and valuables in the end. But sometimes she felt the prizes weren’t worth the dangers…

The aura of the room seemed to darken as these thoughts crossed her mind, the temperature and lighting lowering. She began to grow nervous at the change of atmosphere, out of habit she dragged her feet as she strolled along, and scraping up snow and mud onto her boots (She chose to ignore it for now). Multiple stalks of Aloe Vera, medicinal Honey, a few bandages and a bottle of juice were all that were remaining in her medicine basket last time she checked.

The frost began to become sparse the further down the hallway she trekked. The Hallway split two ways at the end. Probably best she made her choice now. Turn left or keep going forward? As the last of the frost melted from beneath her, grey bricks came into view. They had beautiful carvings across all of them however it was tainted by the moss spreading between the cracks. Water would occasionally drip from the ceiling; small weeds were from between sprouting further down the hallway, out of the walls and ceiling.  
She felt the tension in the air thicken the further she walked into the emerging moss tunnel. The tunnel that had once just been one path had begun to diverge and split into many, as the walls crumbled on either side, branching off into haphazardly dug dirt tunnels. The kind you would expect from an animal or inmate too impatient to wait out their sentence. She stumbled forward over a small brick on the ground and looked back to gape at the small object that had managed to falter her brisk pace.

She had fallen on to a patch of moss in front of her, a tunnel to her left. Looking down it, it seemed to span on for miles, multiple other tunnels splitting off further down the burrow. The girl got up on her knees and brushed the dirt and green moss off her cape and blouse sleeves. After standing up on her feet she couldn’t keep her composure anymore. The constant silence, the constant feeling of being watched, and the stupid cold! She was never someone to be bothered by the cold or silence, but this was just ridiculous. It was driving her crazy! She withdrew her Scythe from her back, tightened her grip on the handle and slammed it onto the wall. The sound of the dust unsettling ricocheted down the hallway. Howls echoed all the way down the hallway.

“Knew it.” She jeered to herself.

Readying her scythe for the onslaughts of Grimm she caught a black blur shift in the tunnel to her right. Leaping to her left as a claw came sweeping out she cocked her scythe and brought the end down on the Beowulf inside the tunnel. Ripping the scythe from the corpse she turned back to the tunnel to find Beowolves hopping out of the tunnel to the left and right.

“Psh… No problem, just some Beowolves. They may as well be my trademark kill, I got the perk for killing em’ after all.” She talked herself up.

“Let’s do this!” She cocked her scythe and burst forward, spinning her scythe around her body, slicing any Grimm foolish enough to be in her path. She landed back onto the ground and turned towards to the hoard of bestial Grimm, expecting to find the hallway riddled with fading corpses. Only to see she had only managed to take down a few of the beasts. Most were just shaking off the wounds and focusing their gaze back on her. She decided it was best that she think over her current scenario and make the right choi- she quickly dashed to her left to avoid a swiping Beowolf claw.

Thinking over her situation decided it would be best she run and think about what actually to do after she was in safety. Turning away from the Beowolves she activated her semblance. She bolted forward before feeling a splitting pain run down her shins along with a warm trickle. Dammit. Her semblance splits the wounds on her knees, and now she was bleeding. Toppling over, she knew the Beowolves would be on her in a moment.

“Dammit! I knew I should bought some bandages!” She whined.

Hopping back onto her feet she started to run as fast as her legs could carry her, blood still flowing down her knees. Almost tripping, she flipped out Crescent Rose to keep her upright. Why hadn’t she thought of it before! She could use her momentum shot to dash her forward!

Pointing the end of crescent rose behind her, she cocked the gun and shot as a Beowulf leaped for her. Landing a few meters in front of her, she cocked the gun and shot again. Tailing the shots together she rocketed down the tunnel. Noticing her lack of ammo she slowed the amount of shots, eventually coming to a stop. Toppling onto the ground she hadn’t noticed the amount health she had lost from the blood. Looking behind her she saw the Beowolves staring at her from a distance. Some of the continued after her, while others dived back into holes they came out of.

She dashed behind the nearest corner and laid her back against the wall. Letting out a huge puff of air, she as surprised out how cold the area still was. She must have traveled more than half way through the prison by now...

She pulled some medicinal herbs from her basket and rubbed them on her knees, she would need to get new tights as well. She hadn’t noticed how torn they had become. She took the chance to survey her surroundings around her. The prison’s appearance had changed significantly. The moss that had been covering the walls had grown even thicker, and plant matter had grown everywhere. Vines hanging from the ceiling like claws reaching out for her. Small bio-luminescent flowers lit up everything around her, putting a beautiful blue light over everything. She decided it would be best she collect some. Picking a few of the flowers and throwing them in her basket, she recollected wits and thought about her scenario. Pushing her back to the wall she sidled her way over to the corner. Twisting her head around the corner, she saw there were no Beowolves in sight. They had probably given up hunting her for now… The moss was soft against her back. Tired she slumped down the wall, stretching out and taking in a deep breathe.

The area smelt earthy and natural, it was a refreshing scent, considering outside it was too cold to smell anything and most towns were too musty to barely breathe. Despite the danger of the place it was surprisingly tranquil. She propped up Crescent Rose beside and strengthened her Aura as much as she could manage, in case of a surprise attack. She closed her eyes to try to calm herself. It was working until a loud buzzing went off. Jumping onto her legs she fully extended Crescent Rose, spinning it around her and firing to try and ward off any enemies that may be going for her. Peaking around the corner the buzzing only got louder, pointing it down the tunnel she cocked the gun, awaiting anything to come running down the dark hallway. As her fingers trembled she realized. The incessant bother was coming from her pocket. She reached into her pocket to pull out her folded up scroll. Unfolding it, she reads "JAUNE ARC CALLING

Realizing the buzzing was only a call from her companion she hastily tapped the green button.  
“Ruby! Where are you!” came a boyish voice on the other end.

“Oh hey Jaune! Um… I’m not really sure to be honest, I was chased by some Beowolves and kinda lost where I was go-” she jeered before being cut off.

“I need you to come down to the fifth level! I came across something amazing!”

“What is i-”

“It’s a kind of treasure you’ve never seen before! It’s huge and glowing! It must be worth a fortune and imagine the experience you’ll get from it!”

“Okay! I will try but I don’t really know where to go from here! What do you want me to do?”

“That’s fine, uhm… Just describe to me what the area looks like! And quickly too!”

“Oh! Erm! Well there is a lot of moss everywhere, glowing plants; it’s all really pretty actually!”

“Oh wow! You actually managed to find that place? Good job! It took me ages to first figure out where you had to turn to f-.”

“Um? Jaune?”

“Oh right sorry! Make sure you grab some of those glowy things their pretty rare and-“

“I already did no worries!”

“Oh cool! Well where you will want to go from here is just go back around the corner and head back towards the prison, but turn right instead of going back to Beo-tunnels, just watch out for any creeps, they get aggravated pretty easily.”

“I know Jaune, I know! Jeez! You’re just like Dad!”

“Hahaha, yeah maybe a little bit. Well you better hurry up! Call me if you get lost again!”

“Will do! Ciao!”

Snapping her scroll shut she placed it back into her pocket, she huffed.  
After collecting some more of the flowers for Jaune she gathered all her things and she pressed her back against the wall. She sidled along and curved her head around the corner. Peeking down the long hallway she saw some black objects shifting about just before the corner.

“Damn it. The Beowolves must have respawned…” She muttered to herself.

Pressing her back hard against the wall she weighed her options. She could try and fight them again, some of the plants she picked up seemed to have power boosting abilities, but in retrospect it would prove dangerous if the effects wore off mid-fight. Her knee had healed up fine, so using her semblance to dash through was also an option, but getting hit even once at the speed would probably prove fatal.

She supposed the best option would be a slight mix of the two. Using a combination of her semblance and Crescent Rose she could probably take a few out while moving through them. She holstered her clipped her cloak together and the front and jump out into the middle of hallway. Activating her semblance she bolted down the hallway, her surroundings blurring around her. The hallway she flew down was a mash-up of greens and blues, leaving a trail of shimmering rose petals behind her. Squinting from the sheer velocity, she saw the black blurs in front of her fade into clear sight. She readied her scythe and fully extended it.

She leaped into the air, her cloak making a popping noise as the clips separated and she dug the end of her trusty scythe through a Beowolves black skull, its limp body dropping to the ground as she planted her boots onto the stone brick floor. The Beowolves turned their heads towards the hooded figure and dashed for her, claws reaching towards her, glowing red under the torches that lit the tunnel.

Grabbing the hilt of her scythe, she tore it from the Beowolves skull and pointed it towards to the nearest living beast and fired a shot. Causing the beast to falter slightly, the recoil stunning her caused a panic and she leaped into the air. Swapping out to some blaster ammo mid-air she planted her boot on a Beowolves head and shot downwards, launching herself towards the left wall. She twisted Crescent Rose around herself she dug it into the wall, hanging on tightly to suspend herself. An idea sparked in her brain. She cocked the weapon and shot a bullet backwards and she used her scythe to steady her as she wall ran.

The Beowolves leaping for her every chance they could, she was horrified. One hit and she would go tumbling to the floor, at be at the mercy at the beasts she was meant to be so adept at killing. Seeing the corner coming closer she dug her heels into the wall.

Coming to the corner she leaped once more and pointed her scythe at the wall, combining her semblance and 3 blast shots at the wall she launched herself down the hallway wrapping her cloak complete around herself to protect her body from the air forcing itself against her. Feeling the force lessening she figured she was slowing down, peeking out from out of her hood she saw the hallway she was in was dark, but seemingly empty. Preparing herself she unraveled her cloak from around herself and spread all her limbs, causing rose petals to scatter all around her. She always hated that effect.

Landing flat on the ground, she slowly lifted her body from the floor. Bringing her up to a sitting position, her legs splayed out in front of her. She decided it be best she ring Jaune before continuing. Crossing her legs she pulled out her scroll and selected the contacts options. Scrolling through the list a people from close friends to strangers she doesn’t really remember getting the numbers of she came across Jaune’s.

She hit the dial button and the words ‘DIALING JAUNE ARC’ appeared on her screen, along with the same buzzing as earlier. After a few buzzes occurred before hearing a clicking noise.

“Oh Hey! Ruby! What do you need?” said the same voice from earlier.  
“Hey Jaune! Well I just took the turn down the hallway, and I was just wondering if you had anything important to tell me before I continued?”

“Erm.” The call went quiet for a moment besides Jaune grunting.

“Err Jaune? Are you okay? You seem a little distracted?” She inquired.

“Oh. Yeah sorry I’m fine. Just trying to do something at the moment. Where are you right now?”

“Well, it’s pretty dark so it’s hard to tell. There are some orange torches on some far off walls. The ground kinda looks like a mix of sand and stone.”

“You mean sandstone?” The other teen asked.

“Yeah sandstone that’s it!”

“Okay I know where you are, and I would consider running if I were you.”

“What? Why?”

“They are probably all around you, no doubts. Do you see that square light off in the distance?”

“Uhm… Yes?”

“Head there! Also don’t bother fighting”

“Don’t bother fighting what? Jaune what are you talking abo-“ her sentence was cut short by muffled “Goodbye” and a clicking noise.

“Goddammit Jaune” She thought to herself.

Standing up again she went to survey her surroundings for the first time since she arrived in the area, only to be greeted by shadows filled with red eyes glaring her down. Just great. Wrapping her cloak around herself she turned towards the light and dashed off towards it, hopefully leaving behind whatever Grimm lie in the darkness. Hearing large thumps she turned her head to see a large white maw galloping towards her.

“Eep!” She let out in fear.

Pulling her cloak even tighter around her she tried to force herself to go faster. Noticing the gateway becoming closer she squinted her eyes to prepare for the change in brightness. Ignoring the beast that was surely following behind her, Ruby burst through the doorway at top speed, falling face first onto mossy stone. Everything was muffled from the cloak that covered her body. She heard yelling, howling, screeching and large thumping noises from above her.

Ripping the cloak off of herself, the brunette jumped onto her feet gazing in awe at the area she had landed in. It was a huge underground coliseum of sorts. The roof was covered in unbelievably large white crystals that glowed as bright as the sun, making the area appear as if it were outside. The entire place was made from beautiful pearl bricks. Most of the pure appearances were tainted with moss lining the separations between the bricks. In the center was a platform surrounded by a moat, and in the center, a huge Deathstalker sat, whipping its tail at a quick moving target. The Deathstalker shifted its gaze to her, she couldn’t help but squeal at the sudden gesture.

Hearing the thumping from earlier she turned her head and saw a giant Creep barge through the doorway she had just moments ago crashed through. Hearing a whistling sound, she turned back to the Deathstalker and ducked as the Deathstalker’s tail grazed the top of her head, striking the Creep standing just out of the doorway and throwing it across the room. At least she knew she could do that now. Completely shocked and confused as to what was going on, all she wanted to do was cry out in frustration and rage quit, but this thought was cut short by a hand roughly grabbing her by the waist and throwing her over a shoulder.

Gazing up she saw a mop of bright yellow hair and a big grin carrying her around.

“Ugh! Jaune! I knew you would do this! You brought me along to fight a boss that is way too powerful for me again! Why do you never tell me these things?” She whined while being jostled around.

“Because if I told you, you wouldn’t have come!” He replied with the big grin still on his face.

“Ugh! Of course I wouldn’t have come! I will die! I almost always do!”

“Well since you’re here why not help me?”

She thought for a moment before begrudgingly agreeing.

After placing her down gently and jumping to the side her unsheathed his blade, flashed Ruby a toothy grin and enthusiastically leaped into combat. Typical. Climbing back to her feet, she wiped herself off and focused her gaze on the battle occurring in front of her. Jaune was leaping to and fro, slicing the Deathstalkers legs and eyes so quickly it barely had time to react.

Flipping out Crescent Rose she aimed it towards the Deathstalker, digging her end into the ground to stabilize it. Reloading and cocking it, she pushed the trigger back and shot a barrage of bullet towards the Grimm. Most bullets just bounced off its hardy exterior, however some found soft flesh between the joints. The insect Grimm barely took notice and just kept trying to claw at her companion.

She fired several more bullet barrages at the beast before deciding the tactic fruitless. She ripped Crescent Rose from the ground and rested it over her shoulder, she was going to go for a more direct approach. She dashed towards the beast, firing shots behind her for momentum to make it over the gap.

Making the leap she swung Crescent Rose out and slashed it right between the joint of one of its legs. The beast squealed in pain and stopped snipping at Jaune, focusing its gaze once more on the hooded prodigy. Intimidated by its gaze her defenses dropped and she almost dropped Crescent Rose, she was only snapped out of it by Jaune calling her name.

He was standing to the left of the beast, hacking away at its legs, the Grimm barely noticing. Looking back to the beast she saw a claw swinging for her and before she could react she had been struck, causing her to fly back and hit wall, all air knocked out of her. Upon trying to get up, she found her limbs were weak and her vision blurry. The only thing she could register was Jaune voice calling her name before she died.

                                                                                                         ~    ~-~   ~

“Goddammit Jaune! I can’t believe you got me killed! Again! This is what, the third time this fortnight? I can’t believe you!” Ruby shouted as she threw off her headphones and pushed her laptop away.

The words on the screen read YOU ARE DEAD as well as a timer for when she would receive her next life. Over 30 minutes, as usual.

“What do you mean ‘got you killed’? You’re the one who fell for its intimidation move.” Jaune voice came quietly from the headphones.

Huffing Ruby leaned forward and picked up her headset again, and untangled it from around her rose patterned pajama bottoms and kicked off the sheets tangled around her ankles. She placed the headset back on her head and readjusted the microphone. She tended to get her feet tangled when playing on her bed, but it was more comfortable then her cluttered desk.

“Yeah! Well you know my character class is weak against that ability! Heck! Most character classes are, except for Knights and Paladins that is.” She grumbled. “Plus, you even knew that I was like, way too low for this kind of dungeon, I could barely survive the Tree spire at this level!”

“Yeah I know… Sorry about that and about this time as well. But hey! I beat the Boss at least! Wanna try again later? I’ll share some of loot with you when you come back? How does that sound?” Jaune said.

“Really Jaune? Ruby asked

“Come on Ruby, you know I’m sorry! Please!” she could almost tell he was pouting.

“Fine!” She let out “But you owe me a weapons upgrade.” She bargained.

“Awesome!” Jaune cheered.

“Well since I’ve got a while to wait, thanks to someone.” Ruby said, putting emphasis on the last word. “I’m going to buy some cookies from the corner shop. It’s only 8:30, they should still be open right?”

“You mean From Dust till Dawn? Yeah, they are open pretty much twenty four seven. I mean, it’s kind of implied in the name.” Jaune said.

“Yeah, Yeah, but you never know. Anyways! I’ll be back soon! Talk to you later!”

“Stay safe! Talk to you later! Bye~! “ said Jaune before Ruby closed the Skype call. He’s a dork, but he’s her favorite dork.

Closing her laptop and throwing it at the end of her bed she jumped onto her feet. Stepping over her laptops power cord and grabbing her keys off her bedside table, she looked around the floor for something to throw over her. After scattering a pile of dirty laundry across her room she found her favorite black and red Flannel, and threw it over her tank top.

Looking through her top draw for some socks she noticed something silver, after grabbing some her socks she decided she may as well take it. Safety is number one priority after all; at least that’s what her Uncle always said. Looking around for her phone, and not being able to find it amongst her mess, she decided she’ll just go. Her room was a pigsty so who knows where it could be. Exiting her room she walked from a small room into the spacious hallway. The house was silent, with her Uncle away and Yang off at some friend’s party, she walked down the main stairs. Going to the table and mirror by the door she looked at the mirror and mussed up her fringe a bit. Looking at the small basket on the top she noticed a slip of paper in it that read:

_Baby Bears Xiong Club, 7:30pm, meet at the Chinese restaurant next door._

She assumed this to be the place Yang’s party was at, she decided to take the paper just in case. Deciding her fringe was as good as it was going to get she opened the door and stepped out into the nights air. She closed the door behind her and locked it, before making her way to the front gate. Pulling the latch up on the gate she pushed open the gate and stepped out into the street.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah not very many zombies in that chapter or at all really.  
> Don't worry guys! This chapter was just to get the ball rolling!  
> Also the ships will be revealed later!  
> EDIT: I also apologize for any inconsistencies when spelling Beowolf/Beowulf/Beowolves.


End file.
